Move to district head office, PM tells Busega workers

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed civil servants to shift to Busega district headquarters in Simiyu region in order to speed-up development in the area.

He gave the directive on Tuesday when addressing Busega residents during a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for construction of Busega Municipal Council administration block, which is expected to cost Sh4.66bn. 

Its construction started in July 2015 and will be completed in January 2017.

Majaliwa is on a six-day official visit of Simiyu Region where he is expected to address wananchi and inspect various development projects.

“I want all civil servants to work from here…no one should continue operating from Magu district,” said the premier.

He said the government was aware of housing challenges for civil servants and that arrangements were being made to ensure houses were constructed within a short period.
 
He said talks were going on with the National Housing Corporation (NHC), NSSF and Mwananchi Housing Corporation to build houses in the new district.

He said once all the workers resided at Busega district headquarters it would be easy for them to identify challenges and fast-track the implementation of development projects.
 
“The government is responsible for the improvement of workers’ welfare. With the improved monthly revenue collections, we will soon fulfill our promises,” he noted.

Earlier, Gaudensia Bamugileki, the District Executive Director, said construction of the building may take long as there were several challenges including delays in disbursing of funds from the central government.

She said so far the contactor had been paid Sh600m out of the required amount, which is more than Sh4,06bn. She said completion of the building would enable the district to save funds currently used to pay rental fees.

“We are now working from a small rented complex…we call upon the central government to release the funds on time for early completion of the building,” said Bamugileki.

Meanwhile, Premier Majaliwa has addressed residents of Nyanshimo ward where he insisted that the government was determined to improve health services in the country. 

The government is now constructing a maternity ward in the area with support from the government of Japan, which would pump in $80,000 and an additional Sh 312m.

Majaliwa thanked the Benjamin Mkapa Foundation for construction of 10 houses for civil servants working at the Busega district hospital.

He, however, called on parents to ensure their children were enrolled in primary schools and urged Busega District Commissioner Paul Mzindakaya to make sure this was implemented without failure.

The development budget for Simiyu district is over Sh1.1bn.